At Asda the thinking is that punters will be so excited at the prospect of the next Sony games machine that they'll wager a £20 deposit on whether they'll want to buy it when it comes out.

A preorder webpage asks punters to lay down their £20 now so that they can reserve their Playstation 4 when it is announced.

Asda says that the expected release date for the PS4 is Christmas, but it isn't making any promises. What it is asking is that you buy a ticket, or a code really, to allow you access to a preorder voucher.

It must be setting aside some space in its stores, and making room in the hot cakes aisle, because only one coupon per customer is allowed and Asda will cancel any repeated entries that you might make.

When the release date is announced and Asda has worked out its packages, it will email voucher buyers with the next stage in the ordering process, the choice of what kind of PS4 they want. Asda says that people who decide not to continue will be able to get a refund of their £20.

Orders made using codes generated by these pre-release vouchers will take priority when stock comes in and PS4 consoles start shipping. µ